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Individuals living with Alzheimer's disease have a unique leadership opportunity to turn their experience into inspiration for others living with dementia. Their voice and actions taken, big or small, are powerful tools that can help to raise concern and awareness and empower others.

• About the Group
• Call for nominations

About the Early-Stage Advisory Group

Since 2006, the Alzheimer's Association National Early-Stage Advisory Group (ESAG) has helped bring the voice of individuals living with dementia to the national forefront. Members provide a unique perspective to the key efforts of the Association that include:

• Increasing Concern and Awareness
  

  I felt I was making a difference. I was putting a face on this disease and that's what people respond to. Being selected to ESAG was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done.

  Chuck M., Living with Alzheimer's
  Featured stories in national media outlets such as The New York Times and NBC Nightly News have reached over 300 million people since the Advisory group's inception.
• Enhancing Care and Support
  Input on the development of Association's early-stage programs and support services. These include I Have Alzheimer's section and LiveWell online tools, which are helping people in the early stage of the disease live their best life for as long as possible.
• Advancing Public Policy
  Testimony to the Social Security Administration and an appointment to the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care and Services are just a few ways the Advisors are helping to ensure the voice of individuals living with dementia is being heard at the highest level of government in its effort to address Alzheimer's disease.
• Accelerating Research
  Work with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is helping to raise awareness about the importance of Alzheimer's research and ways to engage more people living with the disease in clinical studies.

Call for nominations

• Nominee must have a diagnosis of early-stage Alzheimer's or another dementia.
• Nominee must have the ability to travel — expenses are covered by Alzheimer's Association.
• Nominee must have the ability to participate in conference calls and use email.
• Term is one year (July 1 to June 30).

The role of the Early-Stage Advisory Group is to:

• Raise awareness about early-stage issues.
• Inform the public about the work of the Association.
• Act as a spokesperson for national media opportunities.
• Advocate to increase funding for research and support programs.
• Provide input to external groups (on behalf of the Association) regarding early-stage issues.
• Support the Association in providing the most appropriate services for people living with early-stage Alzheimer's.

Each advisor is selected for their personal experiences with the disease and the desire to use their voice to draw attention to early-stage issues. Former careers of advisors include corporate executives, health professionals, teachers, police officers, attorneys, architects, physicians, behavioral health counselors, hospitality professionals and more. Advisors are parents, grandparents, and in several cases, caregivers themselves.

"Early-stage" refers to people, irrespective of age, who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or another dementia. In this stage, individuals can still participate in give and take dialogue and express their wishes for the future. This includes those persons with younger-onset Alzheimer's, also known as "early-onset."

For more information or questions contact: earlystageinfo@alz.org.